It is a results business, as has been made clearer than ever this week, and
there is no manager more results-driven than José Mourinho. Last night,
against the Spanish league leaders, in the partisan atmosphere of the
Vicente Calderón, Chelsea got precisely the result they came for. In a
week’s time, we will find out whether it was the right one.

A goalless draw away from home in the first leg of a Champions League knockout
tie can never be greeted with wild celebration, but it always seemed to be
the height of Mourinho’s ambitions from the moment the first